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Day Trip in Bohol - Travel Report

To beach lovers, Southeast Asia is a paradise. There, summer never fades. No matter what traveling approach a beach lover selects: splurge or save, action or chill, physical or spiritual, beginner or expert… Southeast Asia has a great deal of options to offer! That’s true – the possibilities are endless, even better, it is of unbelievably great value. Swimming with dolphins, snorkeling in exotic islands, boat trips, local markets, cave-diving, yoga retreat, surfing, partying, paddle boarding, water sports, or simply just relaxing on a beach … how wonderful!

The locals are friendly, more open-minded, passionate, expressive and natural musicians. There are a number of churches in the country that are Unesco World Heritage, but not as significant and magnificent as the national monuments such as the Borobudur in Indonesia, or the Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Instead, the country has a great inventory of coastlines and natural wonders – the Chocolate Hills is one of them.

July is the rainy season in Cebu, therefore, the weather is not ideal. Sometimes it was sunny in the morning and then downpours came upon us when the dark clouds approached from the hills in the afternoon. The heavy rain caused flooding and blocked the traffic, I couldn’t even get a taxi from the Ayala Shopping Center back to the apartment! Before the day tour, it had been raining continuously so I wasn’t even sure I would get to see the hills. But well, I booked it and I had to go anyway. There are quite a lot of choice and Bohol day days departing from Cebu. After some research I found the Supercat2go a very nice pick as they have their own ferries (being the operator of speedboat services) For a relatively lower price the Bohol Day Tout Package includes speedboat transportation from Cebu to Tagbilaran (Bohol’s port), Loboc River Cruise (with buffet lunch), admission to the Tarsier Sanctuary, and visiting the lookouts of Chocolate Hills with a driver and an English-speaking travel guide. On top of these major locations, the tourist may also visit some attractions on the way, like the Blood Compact Monument, Baclayon Church and Museum, and more.

Some may plan to stay on the Bohol Island overnight (they have some nice beaches and resorts in the outlying islands), and it has the flexibility – there are plenty of tricycle drivers and tour operators gathering at the exit of the Tagbilaran pier, waiting to take tourist on a tour or to a hotel. But still, I find the Supercat tour quite east and effective. When we arrived at the pier in the morning and only then I have to pay for the tour and ferry tickets (Php 2980). Technically, the US$60 was all I had to pay for the tour.

Tarsier Sanctuary

Tarsiers are not exactly exclusive in Bohol, but it’s a symbol there. Tarsier (NOT monkeys) is a primate that belongs to a more primitive family – they have signature big round eyes that abnormally in proportion to their size of their head and body. The sanctuary was the place to protect and promote the preservations of such tiny and adorable creature on the island.

It was a very simple site with a small exhibition hall and a short walking trail in the woods. There are a few (4/5) spots on the trail that a Tarsier was just attached to a tree – chilling, while visitors could quietly observe them up close and personal. The creature is very small and it’s difficult to take a clear selfie with them – but their big, round eyes were definitely the focal point of the shot.

Loboc River Cruise

The Loboc River is a major tourist attraction that flows through the Bohol Island. Most visitors are brought here to the river cruise and floating restaurant. After a short wait at the dock, we boarded the cruise and sailed out to the muddy river; buffet lunch was served and live guitar band was played. Apart from enjoying the breeze and palm trees on both sides, we were also greeted by the locals with a Kuradang dance show – a traditional folk dance of the Visayan People during special occasions, parties, and reunion.

When I was there it wasn’t exactly the dry season, I was thankful just because it didn’t rain (in fact, even with a little of sunshine as it had been raining for few days in Cebu). As the bus stopped we had just about 20-25mins to climb 214 steps to the top of the lookout for a gorgeous view of the Chocolate Hills, take pictures, and then come down. Actually, it was a rather small observation deck, and now I understand why the tourist pictures of the Chocolate Hills are rather similar because they were all shooting at the same spot same angle! Luckily it was not so crowded and I managed to take a few nice shots of this world-class tropical nature wonder. If I really had to comment about the day tour, I would suggest shorter time on the Loboc river cruise and leave a little bit more time for visitors to enjoy the views of the Chocolate Hills. Besides, I wonder are there any activities, hiking trails or lookouts available for visitors? For an area over 50km2, I believe the Chocolate Hills definitely have more to explore.